A MAN held a knife to another man's throat and threatened to kill him in a "ploy" to escape police.

Luke Lightowlers, 21, of Copgrove Road, Holme Wood, appeared before Bradford Crown Court yesterday, to be sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of escaping from custody and threats to kill at a previous hearing.

The court heard the incident unfolded in October, when police were dealing with Lightowlers, who had been arrested in connection with other matters.

He had some injuries and was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary, but problems came about as he was taken away from the hospital.

He made a sudden dash and ran away as a police officer let go of him to retrieve his car keys.

Lightowlers was still wearing handcuffs at the time.

The following day, officers received information that he may be in a caravan in Holme Wood.

They attended the address and knocked on the door and made their presence known a number of times.

Officers then heard a scream and heard someone shouting "he's got a knife to my throat", they then heard Lightowlers saying he was going to kill the man.

He held the knife to the other man's throat and made more threats that he was going to kill him.

Officers, fearing the man may come to some harm, allowed the pair some space, but they both ran off.

The court heard Lightowlers has eight previous convictions for 11 different offences on his record.

Mitigating, Nigel Jamieson said Lightowlers was experiencing "disarray" in his life.

Mr Jamieson said the knife threat was a "ploy" from the two of them to run away from police and the other man was not in any danger.

He said Lightowlers he had co-operated with police in hospital, had been polite, and his decision to run off was not a pre-planned one.

Sentencing him to a total of 13 months in jail, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, told Lightowlers that while the "seriously irresponsible" knife incident may have been a ploy, he threatened to cut the man's throat to get police to back off.

He told him to "get a grip" and told Lightowlers he could not keep coming to court, making promises he is not going to keep, expecting to be given non-custodial sentences.